2022 FMI Store Manager Awards Winners Revealed

Winners in 4 categories will receive $1K prize

4/28/2022

Rob Vassar, at far left, is a Meijer store director in Stevensville, Mich., and is taking home two honors in this year's FMI Store Managers Awards.

FMI—The Food Industry Association has announced the four winners of its 2022 Store Manager Awards. The awards program includes three categories based on store size, an international category and also a People’s Pick winner.

“The 2022 Store Manager Award winners epitomize food retail resilience. Despite tumultuous times, these phenomenal few succeeded in outperforming sales targets and maintaining top-tier customer service,” said Leslie Sarasin, president and CEO of Arlington, Va.-based FMI. “They consistently put the well-being of their employees first by carefully nurturing team talent and elevating colleagues to positions that fit their unique skillsets. Moreover, the benevolence of the 2022 Store Manager Award winners could be felt beyond the parameters of their stores through their collaboration with local stakeholders to fulfill community needs.”

The 2022 award winners are:

Category A (1-49 Stores): Stephanie Wright, Store Manager, Monadnock Food Co-op, Keene, N.H.
Category B (50-199 Stores): Raymond Stockard, Store Manager, K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc. d/b/a Food City, Kingsport, Tenn.
Category C (200+ Stores): Rob Vassar, Store Director, Meijer, Inc., Stevensville, Mich.
Category D (International): Dawn Haig, Store Manager, Save-On-Foods, Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada
People’s Pick: Rob Vassar, Store Director, Meijer, Inc., Stevensville, Mich.

According to FMI, the winners “overcame novel challenges to achieve record financial growth, customer satisfaction, and employee performance, in addition to developing innovative in-store programs and making significant investments in their communities."

“This year’s awardees demonstrated inspiring leadership, and FMI is proud to recognize their contributions to industry excellence,” Sarasin continued.

Each award winner will receive a crystal award and $1,000, and the People’s Pick winner will receive a trophy and $500 to celebrate their employees.

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meijer operates more than 258 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. The company is No. 18 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food retailers in North America. Abingdon, Va.-based K-VA-T Food Stores Inc. is No. 70 on the list.